Panic.

There was the panic hidden under the malice that Florence stared back at him with. But he relished it and Xevon hardly cared that he relished that look. There was something dark about it, something harrowing later about the fact he enjoyed that panic.

The way he enjoyed the fact that she couldn't move at all.

Xevon shook his head lightly, scoffing dryly as she began to sink into oblivion.

Good.

"Not like your father," he hissed dryly, "sure. Couldn't have fooled a fly. You are exactly like him," Xevon didn't remove his arms at all. There was a coursing thrill, a rush of emotion that slid through his veins. That was what he wanted, he enjoyed it.

Mostly, as he noted, because he was in control this time. He wasn't acting out of a lost state of panic, he wasn't controlled by anyone. This was his choice, this was his own force, his strength and choice. Nothing was making him do this.

Dangerous, perhaps, but thrilling.

His eyes lifted up, staring at Lily. There were tears in her eyes. This wasn't her...

Xevon tipped his head lightly, moving one of his hands to take place where Lily's were around the neck of the beast. He would take this place. There was already blood on his hands. What was a little more?

Besides, this didn't even feel like blood on his hands, it felt more like ... avenging.

The tears in Lily's eyes, the distant sound of Finn's quite shaking cries--this was his place to help them.

"Go," Xevon whispered softly, "comfort him. I can take care of her."

In a way, it felt like finally getting the upper hand over Veles as well. As if ridding himself and the world of the influence of the disastrous wanna-be fallen god and now his duplicated daughter.

His hand tightened before he reached for the dagger with the other hand. All he'd had to do was push it up under the ribcage and twist. It was silent, it was quick, not entirely painless... but it would be enough.

---

Onas looked back at Alma, his silent words spoken in his expression. He knew that look and judging by Alma's resigned look, she knew it as well.

The woman brushed her hair back and then exhaled. But it was Onas who spoke "... someone has to tell him."

"who?"

"You? He seems to think of you as a commander, a general--"

"I am in no right to be a general," Alma replied quietly, "I let that life go."

"..." Onas turned back, watching the knife glint in the sunlight. "... but it will follow you wherever you go."

Florence couldn’t find the strength to bite back at Xevon’s comment, it was barely registered as the rining in her ears became all consuming. She just lay there, wings barely twitching with each compressive curl of Lily’s hand.

The blonde woman almost flinched at the feeling of Xevon’s hand, her eye snapping up to look at him as he spoke to her in a voice far too tender for their current situation. She remained there, her hand paused in motion as she processed what was being spoken to her. Him? Him.

Slowly, Lily turned to look over her shoulder towards the cottage and blinked before nodding and begrudgingly pulling herself from on top of Florence. Leaving Xevon to deal with the fallout from her explosive reaction.

By the time she had made it to the front door, she could feel the sting of small slices in her skin from where the glass had glided across and marred her just that little bit more. Lily stopped just before Finn, watching how his wing was curled over himself, she watched for a heartbeat before crouching down beside him and reaching out a shaking hand.

Her touch on his wing was gentle, but apprehensive. The pain she had just inflicted with it was a stark contrast to the touch she was now trying to perform, it felt strange. There was still that searing heat within her body that she couldn’t seem to remove. All she wanted to do was go back and tear her throat out.

–

Callisto had been watching from the broken window, muscles taut as he observed Xevon’s arrival and subsequent delight at Florence’s suffering. He waited and waited as Lily retreated from the altercation. He waited for Xevon to peel himself away from the limp woman. Except he did not.

His head tilted to the side, eyebrows lowered sharply in confusion as Xevon moved his hand from her arms. Expecting him to stand up, release her neck and deliver some scathing words. But there was a glint of metal in his hand.

With a sharp inhale, Callisto twisted himself and pressed his hands down onto the remains of the window to vault himself through the opening. Feeling the glass pierce his palms, slicing through the small layer of flesh and ripping out as he shot over towards Xevon.

“Xevon!” He barked, and for once, Callisto felt no hesitation in barrelling his shoulder into Xevon’s form. A rough huff of air coming from his lungs at the effort it took to conjure up enough strength to rival Xevon.

He could hear Florence’s attempts to breath, straining in her chest and the heart that was beating at an impossible pace. It was disgusting and horrifying and he wanted it to stop.

Finn shook his head lightly, leaning back against the doorway. His chest heaving, shuddering and shaking as he struggled to pull himself together again. He had meant to have some sort of breakdown, sure, but this? This wasn't quite what he meant to do.

The gentle touch that brushed along his feathers brought his attention from himself to look up at the person behind it.

Lily.

His eyes widened slightly, unfurling one wing to reach out and take her hand in his own. He mouthed the words, fishing to try and make some sort of apology out from his lips. Nothing really came, it just dried out in his throat. That was all he could muster before he leaned against the wall again.

What else could he say?

He knew he was wrong, he knew it. But then again... was he really that wrong? No, he was. He had no smart bone in his body, not a single braincell. It was sheer luck that he was still alive. Some sort of fancy magic with that lantern...

---

Xevon tightened his hand on the knife. Two more seconds and it would all be over. They could finally focus on actually getting out of this place, focus on doing good and instead of worrying about what idiotic thing this spawn of Veles was going to spout or do--

Something collided with his shoulder with enough force to knock him back, stumbling on his feet with his wings beating to keep balance. His eyes whipped up, teeth grit in a sharp scowl.

Callisto--?

His hand tightened on the knife.

"Do not make this mistake, Callisto," his voice was low and careful. He had more words that he wanted to say but he held off, waiting. "She chose her fate the moment that she chose violence instead of peace."

His eyes honed in on Callisto.

"She is not innocent and I am not merciful."

Lily didn’t flinch as he marginally crept open the space between himself and his wing, only letting her eyes flicker down towards his hand as it took her own. Almost as quickly as she had looked away, Lily met his gaze again, watching as he tried to concoct some sort of sentence but nothing came out. His eyes were bleary and his shoulders still shook with each breath. The way his body sank back down in defeat.

The fire within her that had begun to smother sparked back, her own shoulders squared, her hand gripping his tightly as some sort of outlet for the build up within herself. At that moment, she heard a sound, something like a scuffle of feet and it made her wrench her head back around towards where she had left Xevon to deal with Florence.

What she saw made her almost scoff in surprise. Standing between a spluttering, barely conscious Florence and Xevon was Callisto. His stance wide, hands splayed at his sides in preparation for what looked like defence.

Her lip curled, eyes deadened. “I see where his loyalties still lie.” It was an utterance that slipped from her lips before she had time to process what her thoughts were.

Carefully, she turned her head back around to Finntello. It was taking most of her mental effort to not move away, to not go back over there. Instead, she focused on the feeling of his hand in hers and slipped down onto her knees beside him. Her free hand moved to push back the hair that had fallen to hand in front of his forehead.

–

He did not miss the flash of white on Xevon’s knuckles as he tightened his grip on the blade, eyes meeting that harsh red that seemed to pierce through his very soul.

Callisto kept his feet wide apart, despite his much smaller stature, at least that would be some sort of defence against the sheer power that was Xevon. His chest was rising and falling rhythmically, forcing himself to keep himself calm despite the sharp gaze he was under.

“None of us are innocent, Xevon.” His words were slow and calm, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “You did not see what happened, you cannot enact justice on something you were not there to witness.” Callisto’s left hand moved to flick towards Florence on the floor behind him. Her wings were limp behind her as she leaned upright, one hand to her throat and the other propping her weight up.

“Florence did not hit once, Lily went for her.” He left out the little detail of Florence’s smarmy comment towards Finn.

“Do not become this monster you fear you are turning into.” Callisto took a moment before he brought his hand back to his side. There was no frustration in his voice, determined to ensure at least one of them was of sound mind.

–

Renissa frowned, still cradling the wooden bowl with green poultice in it, walking across the room towards Onas and Alma. Surprisingly, not in shock, but mild annoyance.

“That was rather rude, now I have a hole in my wall.” She tipped her head to the side, looking from Onas towards the hole, using a hand to flail in its direction.

Finn lowered his head slightly, listening. He couldn't hear as much as Lily could. But that was still enough to tell him that something else was happening. His eyes flicked briefly toward the window and the scene caught his attention.

His mind had come to the same thought that Lily had.

Callisto--defending... her of all people?
His heart echoed in his ears for a moment before he shook his head in disbelief. Callisto was standing between Xevon and Florence. Sure, Finn knew he, himself, was stupid but that? That was absolute insanity. There was no hope for Callisto at this point and Finn knew it. He could see it in the way that Xevon's eyes flared with fire and then a darkness that passed over his expression.

"... oh this is not good."

--

There had been a chance, a brief moment in which Xevon had given Callisto the chance to prove himself. He had the chance to step aside, to make it right and instead he stood there as if he were some sort of saving grace.

He wasn't there--he knew enough about Lily to know that if she, of all of the group, had been attacking... then it was justified. It was warranted. He knew full well that Florence was a brat, a witch and an instigator.

His eyes narrowed, honing in on Callisto before the pale man left his comment there.

Xevon's jaw clenched tightly as he leaned back, his shoulders squaring. That was what he was saying? Callisto was defending her of all people. He knew what she had done, he knew everything she had said, everything that had happened and now he was standing there... defending her?

Calling him a monster?

The swirl of betrayal that shot through him felt like a bullet that had gone through his chest. A bullet that blossomed into a blazing fury, fueled by grief and astonishment.

"You," Xevon lowered his chin, his voice shaking with a dangerously calm tone, "are a traitor. I will deal with you after I finish this demon off."

He stepped forward, gripping Callisto's shoulder in one hand and--with all his strength--threw him to the side.

---

"... yeah, I think you're going to have to deal with more than just a hole, dear Renissa," Onas commented idly, watching the scene unfold. "This--"

Alma shook her head, voice hardly more than a whisper, "what is he doing?"

----

Xevon swirled the knife in one hand, adjusting his position as he moved to drive it downward into Florence. The rage boiling and rolling off of his shoulders was all but visible.

He had trusted him.

And this was how he repaid them? By defending the monster that they had fought so hard to get rid of. Lily never fought. If she was attacking then it was warranted, justified and that meant that Xevon had little guilt in killing Florence.

And, afterward, he'd debate on Callisto's fate.

Lily didn’t look back over towards the trio again, she didn’t need to. Xevon could do whatever he wanted, either way it was going to end in a way that she liked. Was that a thought she really had? She wanted Florence dead?

It made her frown in concentration as she picked through her own mind. There was a howling fury in her that wanted that woman to be six feet under, burned to a crisp and fed to the rats. But there was another part, a part that felt more familiar and warm, that didn’t want it. That didn’t want to see more lives lost.

Was Florence a rude person? Yes. Was she abhorrent to be around? Yes. Did that mean she should die? Lily was conflicted.

–

As the silence hung in the air, he waited. He knew his fate before Xevon had spoken, from the way that his jaw clenched and the flash within his eyes. It hit him like an avalanche. His stance weakened, he recognised the look in his eyes and it tore through him like a blade.

It was the accompanying words that made his heart feel like it had fallen out of his chest. He was..a traitor? It made his muscles slack.

There was no attempt at avoiding what came next. Callisto felt the firm grip on his shoulder and he was cast aside. Sent barrelling towards the ground, his palms splayed out amongst the grass, squishing into the dirt as his knees hit the ground with a dull sound.

He remained on the floor, on his hands and knees, listening to Xevon’s advance on Florence. His eyes remained staring into the middle distance, unfocused and empty.

–

Renissa let out a huff of annoyance and shook her head again.

“These mortals are getting more difficult with each generation.” She muttered to herself, tapping her fingers on the side of her wooden bowl. Watching as Alma breathed out her question.

“Well, he’s going to kill her.” Renissa answered matter-of-factly. Apparently unphased by the display from outside.

–

Florence had recovered enough to be able to concentrate on the feeling of the ground beneath her. Her throat still burned and her fingers felt nothing like her own as she tried to stand. Her ears were still recovering, she could hear the men behind her but refused to look over. She needed to stand up.

They were going to kill her. If that woman wasn’t going to do it, Xevon would. There was no doubt about that and she needed to leave.

She could follow them, wait until they found their way out and escape back home. Home, she wanted to go home.

Florence took one shaky step forwards when she heard the sound of a body hitting the floor behind her. It made her turn, seeing the looming figure of Xevon stalking towards her with a violent glint in his eyes. It made her blood run cold, wings flare up behind her in a panic.

One hand extending out in defence, still lined with bone claws and the mess of flesh and feathers and fur gifted to her by her father. But her palm was facing him, not her claws.

She stepped backwards, almost falling over her own feet.

“I’m sorry, alright!” She called out, trying to match his pace step for step as she reversed. “I shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have been so cruel to all of you. I shouldn’t have made fun of the kid!” Florence arched her wings, preparing for a swift escape if he dove towards her. Not that it would put much distance between them. His wings were just as strong and just as powerful. Her only advantage would be her weight. He was far larger. She was quicker.

She winced as her hand was flicked aside like she was nothing but a fly that was pestering him. Her hand returned to her side, fingers still spread out in front of her hips as she prepared to grab whatever part of Xevon was about to come flying at her.

Her ankle rolled and she almost went toppling backwards, but she slammed her foot back into the ground and ignored the hot pain that bloomed in the joint.

Florence didn’t say another word as he stopped his advance, she stopped as well. The moment she had the chance, she slammed her wings down towards the ground and sent herself rocketing towards the darkening sky. The one thrust of her wings sent her spiralling high into the clouds, leaving behind a trail of half rotten feathers and fur, slowly whirling down towards the ground.

–

Callisto was still on the ground. Having leaned back to be sitting on his knees, staring into the rolling hills beyond the picket fence in front of him. Arms loose at his sides as Xevon made his way over to him, the anger now directed solely at him.

“I have seen enough death for a hundred life times, I did not want to see another.” Callisto’s voice was quiet, and his eyes did not move from where they were fixed on the horizon. There was little relief in the fact he had heard Florence take off, that she had made it out of there, because now all of Xevon was going to gunning for him.

He had to wear this now, he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to handle it. This place, these people. It was too much, too many conflicting groups, no certainty about their survival. He almost wished that Veles had truly killed him, and had taken him into that lantern.

–

Lily blinked as she saw the shadow of Florence lifting into the sky, her neck bent backwards to follow it. Only a moment before she rounded back on Finntello, feeling some of the tension in her muscles lifting. Her death or promise of never seeing her again, it didn’t really matter to Lily. What mattered was that she had made Finn curl up like this. Shrink back into himself.

With one movement, she twisted and sat down on the ground beside him, making sure to keep her connection to him secure. Keeping their hands together as she leaned back, not enough to squish his wing against the door frame, simply to be at his level.